CD133 is marker of liver stem cells

Los Angeles, CA -

The liver is one of the most regenerative organs, with potential to reconstitute original mass even after 2/3 resection. It has been previously postulated that oval cells have stem cell-like ability and are involved in regeneration of liver after resection. In fact, it was even postulated that oval cells derived from the bone marrow (Oh et al. Bone marrow-derived hepatic oval cells differentiate into hepatocytes in 2-acetylaminofluorene/partial hepatectomy-induced liver regeneration. Gastroenterology. 2007 Mar;132(3):1077-87).

In the current study (Rountree et al. A CD133 Expressing Murine Liver Oval Cell Population with Bi-lineage Potential. Stem Cells. 2007 Jun 21) the identification of markers for oval cells with biphenotypic (hepatocyte and cholangiocyte) potential was sought. The investigators found that regenerative cells resided in the periportal zone and expressed the stem cell marker CD133 but lacked expression of the hematopoietic marker CD45.

Identification of the human equivalent of this cell, as well as the ability to expand these cells ex vivo will allow for development of cellular therapeutics for liver failure.